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Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Provider Payment Notice

2/27/2014

BULLETIN NOTICE: February 27, 2014

As you know, on January 14, 2014, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) began using a new electronic document management computer system to support the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). We initially faced significant delays in our payment processing. The majority of our issues have been cleared up and about 90% of our payments are processing through our normal cycle. However, there are about 10% of our payments (and this could include some December payments) that are still held up because of data issues or other system problems that we continue to address.

February certificates are being mailed to providers this week and we will process them for payment starting March 1st. We expect the processing of February certificates to go much smoother than last month but can't guarantee there won't be some issues that occur during the payment cycle. We anticipated a 90 day implementation phase during which there would be a very harsh impact on our business functions. Each week we improve and our hope is that at the end of the 90 days we will be working at a much faster pace with fewer interruptions in service.

The new Child Care Management System (CCMS) will be used by Child Care Resources and Referral (CCR&R) agencies throughout the state to improve the accuracy and timelines of eligibility determinations, notification of approvals, denials, request for additional information and cancellations.

There are many benefits to this system upgrade - it is much more intuitive and user friendly. It provides electronic online applications and scanning ability for paper applications and other relevant documents, which will greatly assist in the department's ultimate goal of transitioning to a paperless system.

Providers may track the status of payments through the IDHS Payment Inquiry Line at 1-800-804-3833 (1-877-434-1082 for TTY callers). Once IDHS approves a payment, providers can follow issued payments at the Office of the Comptroller web site: www.ioc.state.il.us (financial inquiries, vendor payments). If a provider is paid via paper check it will go in the mail the next working day after the issue date. If a provider is paid through direct deposit or debit card, it will be deposited into the account two working days after the issue date.

Providers can see the approved payments from last night, today on the following website: